The first thing
you can say about this recording
of Bach’s Sonatas & Patitas
for solo violin is that it is
very easy on the ears indeed. I
don’t mean this as a trite comment.
Solo violin can sometimes be felt
to be too ‘screechy’ to be enjoyed
for long periods of listening, and
there are a few recordings in the
past which may have served to perpetuate
this impression. The forgiving and
pleasantly resonant acoustic of
St George’s, Brandon Hill in Bristol
helps. This is however no wishy-washy
recording. The detail and colour
of the Tetzlaff’s violin is as clear
as the ice floating in the glass
of fine malt whisky hearing such
gorgeous sounds has inspired you
to pour. By the way, the instrument
is reportedly a Stradivarius but
this detail is not given in the
brief booklet notes.

Being at the front
seat for not much money; ‘voor een
dubbeltje in de eerste rij’ as the
Dutch say, has previously been possible
with this recording. It appeared
in Virgin’s ‘4 Pleasure’ box set
series, in this case together with
Ralph Kirshbaum’s playing of Bach’s
cello suites. This was more of a
bargain than this current edition,
but at less than a ‘two for the
price of one’ offer I shall hear
no complaints about this re-re-release,
given the all-round quality of the
playing and production.

The EMI GROC of
these works with Itzhak
Perlman is a similarly priced
alternative, and so I had a quick
listen to see where these two masters
differ. Perlman is consistently
more sustained in his approach to
the more lyrical writing in these
pieces. Take the opening lines of
the Partita No.2 in D minor and
you hear Perlman getting his expression
from even legato lines, consistency
of tone, a refusal to allow histrionics
to take anything away from the essential
expressiveness of the notes. Tetzlaff
is lighter, giving the lines more
character, allowing the duality
of the phrases to converse with
and play off each other. He is not
overtly dramatic, but pulls the
rhythms around more, giving each
dip and peak of the music its due
weight while always managing to
sound entirely natural. The second
movement, the dancing Corrente
tells a similar story, with
Tetzlaff’s tempo in this case being
considerably more sprightly. He
makes Perlman sound a little like
the slow old granddad, prancing
around his feet like an impish teenager.
Each has his own depth and value,
but for a performance filled with
life and contrast you have to say
that Tetzlaff has the longer legs,
the greater sense that he can stand
alone in a collection without the
feeling one might want to start
looking for alternatives after a
while. Tetzlaff’s Ciaccone,
that great masterpiece from this
Partita is 13.00 to Perlman’s
15:46. Again, he is lighter where
the music allows that freedom of
texture which flows like rainwater
between the fresh green leaves of
each repetition of the recurring
bass. His playing tightens like
a whipcord where the technical demands
kick in, and the drama and sense
of arrival by the end are just what
the doctor ordered. Perlman is also
fine, but lays the drama on with
a trowel right from the start. By
comparison, we’re already almost
worn out by the end of the first
minute. Perlman’s moments of relaxation
do come, but aren’t given long before
we’re moving majestically into ‘the
beast with five fingers’ territory
once again. It’s vast and inspirational,
but the added intensity becomes
harder to live with, and by the
end we’re just glad everyone has
survived and come out, ready for
a mop down on the other side.

This 1993 recording
of the Bach Sonatas and Partitas
for solo violin by Christian Tetzlaff
has been considered something of
a reference for some time now, but
if you shop around online these
days it is not this recording which
pops up the most. Tetzlaff has more
recently recorded the Bach solo
sonatas and partitas for Hänssler
Classics, and this new 2005 release
is equally highly recommended, but
is at a higher price. I’m afraid
I don’t have this new recording
for comparison, but it is said to
have that expected degree of greater
maturity, and a sense of the music
and the musician being even more
as one. In the end, price may decide
on which you go for, but I for one
am prepared to stick my neck out
and say you certainly won’t be disappointed
by this Virgin classics two-disc
set. Having it in your collection
is like having a beautifully lit
fine painting on the wall at home
– there to be enjoyed, and to inspire
and refresh your soul on a regular
basis.

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